Milestones

She got pregnant at the age of 15 and decided to drop out of high school; in her community, that was the norm.

By chance, she met an attorney who hired her as an assistant—she quickly fell in love with the law.

She went back to high school and earned her diploma, but then found out that she’d be unable to attend college because she was an undocumented immigrant.

Instead of giving up, she joined an advocacy group and successfully lobbied to pass Senate Bill 582, allowing undocumented students in New Mexico to go to college and receive financial aid.

She got into the University of New Mexico and was so happy, she felt like she was “going to the moon.”

By the time she finished college, she was in love with education and wanted to keep going, so she applied to law school.

Only after completing law school did she find out that there was a New Mexico law that would block her from being sworn in—at that point, she almost gave up.

However, with pro-bono help from a team of attorneys, she was allowed to take the bar exam; she passed, and was admitted to the State Bar of New Mexico.

Keep following my journey

Education

High School

BachelorEnglish Language and Literature, GeneralUniversity of New Mexico-Main Campus

GraduateLawUniversity of New Mexico-Main Campus

Career

Clerk

I'm a law clerk and assistant public defender for a law firm in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Career Roadmap

My work combines:

My work combines:

Government

Law

Accomplishing Goals

Hurdles

The Noise I Shed

From Teachers:

"You will never be able to go to college because you don't have a social security number. "

I was really upset by this, but it made me more determined to go to college. I reached out to a nonprofit that helps advocate for the rights of undocumented immigrants and helped pass a Senate bill that would allow undocumented immigrants to go to college and get state financial aid.

Challenges I Overcame

Young Parent

Young Parent

I'm a high school dropout. I got pregnant when I was 15. Most of the people in my community, most of the people I knew, that's what happened.